Part 1: The Test Environment
The biggest part of our SQL Server 2012 Upgrade Plan is testing. Although Microsoft hasn’t really changed a whole lot in what we do, there is still the off-chance that some minor change will blow up one of our solutions. I am pretty explosion-averse and was about to start pounding my head against a wall trying to come up with a way to test without impacting developers or users. Then I got lucky; one day I was chatting with a co-workers and he had a really great idea for how to create a test environment that would fit our needs.Part 2: Test Plan
While I probably should have worked out the test details earlier in the SQL Server 2012 upgrade planning, some of the details didn’t come out until later in the planning process (after the schedule was pretty much set). Luckily, we didn’t wait too long and it didn’t impact our upgrade schedule.Part 3: Test Prep
Playback trace capture is a simple process but it is imperative that we capture enough data to get an accurate test. This requires something I haven’t mentioned much yet but really should have: communication. If you don’t want to freak out your developers, especially ones that still have scars from their upgrade bites, you want to get them on board early. Not only will the developers like you better, they will be more apt to help you out. You’re probably going to need their help to communicate to your/their customers and to help you get the right test data together.
No comments:
Post a Comment